The train came to an abrupt halt, the wheels making a screeching sound as sparks flew. It seemed that the conductor had overshot where the train needed to stop, and his mistake sent Davina Shackleton right out of her nap. In her groggy state, she wondered exactly where she was. However, one sniff of the Liverpool air (It reeked of the River Mersey) made Davina remember what had happened and where she was. She looked out of her window and saw the platform, one filled with people she hardly knew and didn't care to know.
She stood up and collected her luggage from the rack above her, still unsure of whether her decision had been the right one or not. The possibility of turning around and going back to Rochdale was always a possibility. She could step off the train right now and head to the ticket kiosk, and she could be back with Tom and her family in two hours time. Maybe she could even call Rachel back and tell her that she'd changed her mind and she wanted the full-time staff position. But was that what Davina wanted? Did she want to go back to Rochdale, Tom Clarkson, and Waterloo Road to admit that she'd made a mistake in leaving. In reality, it was the other way around. She felt like ever stepping foot in Rochdale was a mistake. So many things had happened to her to cement that opinion. She stood in front of her seat for a moment and listed them off. A frown dominated her features as she progressed further and further down the list.
Tom, Jack, Maaka and his whole racism claim, Grantly's bad attitude, Mika, Brett, Roger.
Davina made up her mind. She needed to step off that train and throw herself into the Liverpool life. She was going to stay with her parents until she found a job and a new flat, and things were going to go better for her this time. There were plenty of good schools in Liverpool, filled to the brim with people that would accept her as one of their own. She gathered her luggage and proudly stepped off of the train and onto the platform. At the far end of the station, among the hustle and bustle of everyone else, she could clearly see her dad leaning up against a column. The sight of him brought tears to her eyes. Her parents lived halfway across town but that hadn't stopped her dad from dropping everything and coming to the station to greet her.
Davina tightly gripped her luggage and went bounding across the platform, a few stray tears rolling off her face. Before she reached her dad, she let go of her luggage and found herself in his arms. Her face was red from embarrassment She was a near-thirty year old woman that'd just ran across a platform in tears, just so she could hug her dad. She knew that she was getting weird looks from the commuters and the normal travellers, but she didn't care. Davina deserved to cry freely and openly after everything she'd been through in the past few years.
"It's alright now, Davina love." Her dad cooed as he stroked her hair and let his daughter cry into his duffel coat. Davina looked up at him and smiled. She was nearing thirty and even now the sight of her dad made her feel like nothing was important any longer. She let go of her father and wiped her eyes.
"Oh god, I'm sorry. Dad, you were right.." Her voice sounded scratchy, but it always did. It was part of her accent, and she quite liked it. The scratchiness was part of her. Davina straightened out her blouse and stepped back, putting a hand on her hip.
"I just can't believe that he'd do something like that. I can't say for sure if he was in love with Rose, but I didn't want to stick around and listen to all his excuses for why he was or wasn't cheating on me. I know that I didn't leave things in the best way possible, but I couldn't stick around and feel undervalued any more. I want something like you and mum have, not something that I'll regret." She'd spent several nights on the phone with her dad, detailing the latest hang-ups with Tom, and every time her dad would say the same thing.
"Davina, love, you can't stay with him. He doesn't sound like a bad bloke but it doesn't sound like he's appreciating what he has, now does it? Come home, Davina. Your mum and me'll put you up until you can get on your feet." Davina had heard that speech so many times, but she always refused to leave, saying that she loved Waterloo Road and Tom too much to up and vanish. Now she realised just how stupid she'd been. That wasn't to say that she wasn't eternally grateful for all the help and support Tom had given her in getting her teaching qualifications, but she couldn't stick around and be made second to Tom's charity case of the week.
"You'll find exactly what you need here in Liverpool. I've heard that Hunts Cross Comprehensive is looking for a new member of staff. With your fancy new teaching qualifications an' all, I'd bet that you're a shoo-in for the job. And I'll tell you right now that it's in a right better state than that Waterloo Road you were teaching at. An' your mum is already back home setting up your old room. Not that it needs much setting up, it's just the same as you left it. We've not used it for a thing since you left." He smiled down at his daughter and choked up a bit before he pulled her into another hug.
"I remember when you were just a secretary for that nasty Roger Aspinall fellow. Look at you now, eh? A teacher! My Davina's gone on to be a teacher, and I bet you'll be the best teacher in town." Her father let go of her, although he was still beaming.
A radiant smile spread across Davina's face as she snatched up her luggage and started walking away from her dad, towards the station's exit. When she noticed that her dad was still up against the column, glancing at her with a look of confusion, she stopped and waved him over.
"Are we going home or not, dad?" Davina Shackleton was confident that she'd made the right choice in leaving Rochdale. She would always regret how she'd left things with her boyfriend and everyone she'd known back there in that suburb of Manchester, but she was ready to start a new life for herself, one where she hoped that she'd be appreciated. If she wanted that new life to start, the only way to begin was by stepping out of the station and out into the fresh air of Liverpool.